40-man roster is full -- for the moment

November 26, 2012|Reuters

The Sports Xchange

MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - INSIDE PITCH

It could be an eventful run-up to the winter meetings for the Cubs.

After purging their 40-man roster a few weeks back, the Cubs made some big additions and a couple of subtractions recently as they prepared for the Rule 5 draft and more upcoming trades and/or free agent signings.

The Cubs added pitchers Trey McNutt and Rob Whitenack and infielders Logan Watkins and Christian Villanueva to the 40-man roster, protecting them against being selected in the Rule 5 draft at the end of the winter meetings in early December.

Among those knocked off the 40-man were first baseman/outfielder Bryan LaHair, whose contract was sold to a Japanese club. LaHair opened the 2012 season as the starting first baseman but lost his job when phenom Anthony Rizzo came up in late June.

The 40-man roster was full heading into Thanksgiving, but there are several expendable players left, and the Cubs will look for at least one, and perhaps two, starting pitchers as well as help in the outfield.

McNutt and Whitenack were considered hot properties a couple of years back, but both have suffered injury problems and have struggled with command in their comebacks. Even so, the Cubs still think highly of them.

Safe for now are third baseman Ian Stewart and center fielder Tony Campana. However, if the Cubs find a versatile outfielder and can upgrade at third base, both Stewart and Campana could be gone by the end of the winter meetings, if not sooner.

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MLB Team Report - Chicago Cubs - NOTES, QUOTES

--1B Bryan LaHair leaves the Cubs after an interesting season. The Cubs sold his contract to the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for $950,000, according to ESPN Chicago. Multiple media outlets reported that LaHair got a two-year, $4.5 million contract from the Japanese club. LaHair broke camp with a major league team for the first time in his career in 2012 and made the National League All-Star team after a strong first two months, as he hit five homers in each of April and May. LaHair, 30, hit 38 home runs for Class AAA Iowa in 2011 to lead all of the minor leagues and earn his first serious look in the major leagues. However, he sat on the bench after Anthony Rizzo came up in late June, and he wound up hitting .259/.334/.430 with 16 homers and 40 RBI.

--RHP Shawn Camp, the Cubs' only six-year free agent, re-signed on a one-year deal worth $1.35 million plus incentives that could add another $200,000. Camp, who just turned 37, was a workhorse last season. He tied for the major league lead in appearances with 80 and wound up 3-6 with a 3.59 ERA and two saves. He teamed with LHP James Russell in a largely effective setup duo in front of closer Carlos Marmol. Manager Dale Sveum repeatedly said Camp had "a rubber arm," and that was borne out in the games pitched. "He did a really nice job for us, a great guy to have around," team president Theo Epstein said.

--RHP Carlos Gutierrez was outrighted to Class AAA Iowa as the Cubs added to their 40-man roster with minor league players they had to protect from the Rule 5 draft. The Cubs claimed Gutierrez off waivers from the Twins on Oct. 24. He'll likely go to spring training with the big-league club as a non-roster invitee.

--RHP Jake Brigham was traded back to the Rangers for RHP Barret Loux and a player to be named. The Cubs acquired Brigham from the Rangers at the July 31 trading deadline in a deal that sent C Geovany Soto to the Rangers. However, Brigham made only two starts for the Cubs' Class AA Tennessee club before an elbow strain ended his season. Loux, 23, was 14-1 with a 3.47 ERA with Class AA Frisco, earning Texas League pitcher of the year honors.

--RHP Nick Struck, the Cubs' minor league pitcher of the year, was not added to the 40-man roster, and he could be gobbled up in the Rule 5 draft. Struck, 23, was a 39th-round draft pick in 2009. At Class AA (Kodak) Tennessee this year, he was 14-10 with a 3.18 ERA in 28 games, 26 starts. He could be taken early in the Rule 5 draft by a team that can afford to keep him on a major league roster all year.

--INF Logan Watkins, the Cubs' minor league player of the year, was added to the 40-man roster, as was 3B Christian Villanueva. Watkins, a 21st-round draft pick in 2008, hit .281/.422/.383 with nine homers and 52 RBI for Class AA (Kodak) Tennessee this year. Villanueva came to the Cubs from Texas in the Ryan Dempster trade July 31. In 25 games (84 at-bats) with Class A Daytona, Villanueva batted .250/.337/.452 with four homers. He had 10 homers and 59 RBI for Texas' Class A Myrtle Beach club before the trade.

BY THE NUMBERS: 16 -- Home runs hit by 1B/OF Bryan LaHair in 2012. Despite sitting on the bench for most of the second half, LaHair finished with the second-highest home run total on the Cubs, behind only Alfonso Soriano's 32.